Personal Trainer Career

[mogambo]

I am seriously considering adding part-time personal training to my life as a new career. I could use the money, I hate my day job (testing software and writing user manuals) and it would be great to actually get paid to do something I enjoy. My friends all think I'd be great at it and I should look into it. I've been working out for 25 years and really know a lot about it, but have no formal certification. I know some of you are trainers. What do I have to do to become one? What should I look into? Who should I talk to? How can I market myself? Any advice you can give me will be very valuable.

 

[murph]

I, too, thought I'd do this (and did.) I am certified with International Sports Sciences Association. I still have my day job, though.

It costs between $400 and $500.00 average for the course materials for AFAA, ACE, or ISSA. ***You need insurance to be a personal trainer--the insurance is either furnished by your "club"--or if you are a solo business: you can buy liability insurance through your organization. (All of the certification programs discuss marketing oneself and insurance requirements.)

I kept my regular job, however. There's not alot of money in personal training --unless you break into the elite ranks.
MHO, Murph

 

[cinza]

i think about this too.....
how much does the average trainer make?

 

[murph]

I Can Only Tell You

what the aspiring trainers at my seminars told me. (They were all in their twenties somewhere--mostly.) And many were already employed and getting certified at their club's insistence.
They told me that they were making between $20,000 $25,000 and $27,000 a year--here in the Chicago area: at places like Bally's.
You make the call. :-(

 

[LaBelleRebelle]

RE: I Can Only Tell You

Hmm... that's more than I make being sedentary at a desk job, 40 hours a week!

I used to work in the childcare at Bally's in Dallas, and one of the trainers said that basically all their managers seemed to care about was pushing supplements and protein shakes/bars to make commissions. Lots of sales involved even with personal training at some places, so you need to be wary of that.

I wanted to be a group fitness instructor, but that would only earn me a little pocket change, and I'm not sure how I would "plan classes" or what I'd even teach. Probably Body Flex or Spinning. But as a GFI, your schedule would be more regular. You know, like working 5:30-6:30 M,W,F and 10:00-11:00 on Saturdays, whereas with being a trainer, you'd have a little more difficult time with scheduling, especially if you have other outside activities to schedule round, like school or other jobs.

 

[kimroberts]

RE: I Can Only Tell You

I live in the southeast. Generally, trainers in our town charge $25 - $40 per hour. There are gyms that require the trainer to give them a percentage called a "floor fee" and this can be up to $20 an hour. Fortunately, the gyms I work in do not have that policy and we get to keep all the money, unless they pay by credit card and then the gyms deduct something like $4 for a processing fee. The clients have to pay for a gym membership, too.

The best way to market yourself is to hang out at the gym, get to know a few people, let them see you working out and that you know what you're doing. Try even taking on one or two clients just for free, say for a month. If they like you, word will get around the gym quickly.

Also, on your business cards, you can put a statement like, "First session is free." There will be people who only come for the free one, but you'll get some steady business too. Then later you can drop that policy.

 

[mogambo]

RE: I Can Only Tell You

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am not expecting to make a lot of money, just add some to my day job money. I'd love to quit my job, but I just don't think it's going to happen. Being a personal trainer can be added in somewhat at my convenience, I also plan to teach little workshops on fitness at the local women's center. I would not like being a group trainer, only working with one or two people at a time, I just don't have the personality to get up in front of a group. I don't think I'll get the certification yet, I'll see first if it's going to be worth it, but I do want to get it eventually. My main clientele I want to be people who work out at their own home, or they can come to mine, where I have a lot of stuff, I don't belong to a gym and am not sure I want to deal with that whole scene. But thank you all. I'll keep you posted.